PADDY'S IN TUNE; CHIEFTANS' MALONEY GATHERS TOGETHER A CHORUS TO LIVEN UP HIS `SILENT NIGHT'.

Byline: - Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

Paddy Moloney of Ireland's the Chieftains has come out with a new holiday CD that's neither very Irish nor even totally Christmasy.

``Silent Night: Christmas in Rome'' might as easily be titled ``Christmas Around the World.''

Of course it has a smattering of the Chieftains but also the sounds of an Italian choir and orchestra on ``The Neopolitan Bagpipers Carol (On That Most Blessed Night)''; the tight, nasal harmony of the Bulgarian Voices Angelite; and a crystal clear Norwegian rendition of ``Silent Night'' by Sissel, best-known for her contributions to the ``Titanic'' soundtrack.

It also has a high-spirited version of ``Joy to the World'' arranged by Moloney for the Harlem Gospel Choir. In between are lesser-known Irish and Norwegian tunes as well as original melodies by Moloney and Marco Frisina, conductor of the Choir of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano and the Orchestra Sinfonica della Diocesi di Roma. (Frisina also has composed for Hollywood, winning a CableACE award for the score to ``Joseph'' in 1995.)

Moloney hadn't put out a holiday recording since the Chieftains' ``Bells of Dublin'' in 1991. He said he wanted to do an album whose tracks told the Christmas story and thought the most fitting place to do it was Rome.

``Three years ago, I met with Marco Frisina, the Monsignor - I call him the pope's composer,'' Moloney said. ``I'd thought about doing a Christmas album of different kinds, and we had a chat about it and said, `You do this, and I'll do that.' ''

From there, the project mushroomed as more diverse performers signed on. ``I'm just never satisfied,'' Moloney said. ``I just want to bring in everybody.''

So he added Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe singing German, Maire Brennan singing Gaelic, Pietro Ballo singing French and Zucchero singing Italian.

``The one thing about the Christmas album, it's something you could put on in the middle of July - it doesn't have to be Christmas,'' he said.

Moloney did some traveling to work with the acts before recording, but he admits much of it was prepared from afar.

``The Bulgarian Voices sent me five songs, and I thought they fit perfectly into my European plan,'' he said. ``Most of this was done by telephone; I'd say, `Give me some space here, I want to put some harp on and some bow.' I didn't have time to go to Sofia.''

It's no wonder. Moloney worked nonstop from early January to late July this year with the Chieftains, who were on the road promoting their ``Tears of Stone'' CD featuring Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Natalie Merchant and other guests. Then there's his record company, Wicklow Records, where Moloney enjoys being his own boss.

More recently he was mixing the tracks of another yet-to-be-titled Chieftains album, due in stores next spring.

``Everybody's been after me saying, `When are you going to do an Irish album,' '' he said. ``It's done. I did a lot of on-location live recordings in mansions and pubs, musicians coming together and playing and going for it. And it came out quite nicely. It's good to get back to recharge the batteries.''

What Moloney and the rest of the Chieftains are preparing for now is a very unusual millennium concert. They've been hired to perform New Year's Eve aboard an invitation-only cruise to Antarctica, with Art Garfunkel and Diana Krall.

``We'll be sailing under a dormant volcano,'' Moloney said. ``I believe the acoustics are great, so we should sound good.''

And Moloney still talks about his dream that the Chieftains, now in their 36th year, be the first band to play on the moon.

All this as he turns 60, a time in life when others talk about retirement.

``This is a great kickoff age for me,'' he said. ``I work 18 hours every day for me. I've never worked so hard in my life.''

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Photo

Photo: Paddy Maloney rounded up voices from around the world for his ``Silent Night: Christmas in Rome.''

Jim Cooper/Associated Press